Chapter Two: Cheng Yaojin Suffers a Setback

Li Zhi had no intention of harming Cheng Yaojin; he was simply playing a joke on him.

“Uncle Cheng, why are you so nervous? I’ll take responsibility for my own actions—it has nothing to do with you!” Li Zhi declared with great righteousness, as if he were ready to shoulder all the blame himself.

Yet, with those words, wasn’t he admitting outright that he had masterminded the whole affair?

Cheng Yaojin could only groan inwardly.

But Li Shimin burst into hearty laughter. “Zhi’er, you truly are one of a kind—worthy of being my son!”

He gave instructions to those in Ganlu Hall.

He called for the imperial physicians to tend to the injured consort who served at night.

Then, without so much as a backward glance, he led Li Zhi and Cheng Yaojin off to the Imperial Study.

“Your Majesty, it is almost time for morning court…” Cheng Yaojin reminded him cautiously.

“What’s the rush? I want to have a word with Zhi’er. Go inform the ministers that court will be delayed by a quarter of an hour.”

“Yes… as you command, Your Majesty!” Cheng Yaojin obeyed, though he couldn’t understand.

Li Zhi had torn off the roof tiles of Ganlu Hall—by rights, he should be dealt with harshly.

And he himself was implicated as an accomplice.

By law, such a crime warranted execution.

Yet Li Shimin did not even mention punishment. On the contrary, he seemed quite pleased. Why?

“Zhi’er, you just said you’re a man now. Do you know what it means to be a man?”

“I do!”

“A true man must be responsible, have grand ambitions, and not be bogged down by trivialities!”

Li Zhi’s reply was impeccable.

Li Shimin nodded approvingly. “Well said, Zhi’er… Tell your father, did you come up with these words yourself, or did someone teach you? Speak the truth, and I shall reward you.”

Gazing at Li Shimin’s harmless expression, Li Zhi understood everything.

“No wonder he brought me to the Imperial Study for a private talk. He suspects that I was trying to win favor by deliberately appearing in Ganlu Hall, perhaps under someone’s direction!”

Fortunately, having traveled from another world, his mind was no less sharp than Li Shimin’s.

To dispel his father’s suspicions, he put on a look of childlike innocence and said, “Father, do you not believe your son? They say like father, like son. Is it that you have no faith in me or no faith in yourself?”

“This…” Li Shimin found himself at a loss.

Suddenly, he realized just how clever his son was. Only three years old, not yet schooled, and already possessing such clarity of thought? It was unbelievable.

Especially that line: a true man bears responsibility, has lofty ambitions, and is not fussed over trifles. Li Shimin himself had only come to understand this truth after becoming emperor, yet Li Zhi grasped it at three.

“Father, was I wrong in what I said?” Li Zhi asked.

“Hahaha…” Li Shimin laughed heartily, scooping Li Zhi into his arms and smothering him with kisses.

Spittle flew all over Li Zhi’s face.

“Ah! Father, please, don’t get so excited. I was only expressing my true thoughts, nothing more!”

“Go back to Lizheng Hall and rest. I’ll attend court, and afterwards, I’ll send you a grand gift,” Li Shimin said mysteriously.

He ordered the Imperial Guards outside the study to escort Li Zhi back to the inner palace.

...

Lizheng Hall.

Empress Zhangsun was still anxiously searching for Li Zhi.

From the front courtyard to the rear, even to the neighboring Yiqiu Palace, she had even exercised her authority as empress to conduct a thorough search of every palace and courtyard, all to find the missing Li Zhi.

Who would have thought—

Li Zhi swaggered back in as if nothing had happened.

“Mother!”

“Zhi’er?” Empress Zhangsun turned, her emotions a tangled knot of anger and worry. “Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was?”

“I went to Ganlu Hall.”

“And why did you go there?”

“To play!”

Li Zhi’s face was the picture of innocence.

He didn’t tell her the truth.

Still worried, Empress Zhangsun would not let the matter rest. She questioned the Imperial Guards who had accompanied him and from them learned what had happened in Ganlu Hall.

She was so frightened she turned pale.

“You…”

“Don’t be afraid, Mother. Father wasn’t angry with me—he even said he’d reward me!” Li Zhi said cheerfully.

While searching for Li Zhi, Empress Zhangsun had scratched her arm on a branch in the garden, drawing a little blood. Li Zhi slipped behind her and, using his Mischievous Child system, healed her wound.

In the span of two breaths, the injury vanished entirely, not even a scar remaining.

“How extraordinary… It was worth the risk going to Ganlu Hall and pulling off those glazed tiles!” Li Zhi thought, shivering at the memory. If Li Shimin hadn’t shown mercy and punished him on the spot, he’d have been in real trouble.

Mission accomplished, the system’s healing function was unlocked.

Anything capable of regeneration could be healed—human bodies, plants, animals. Even if something was split apart, it could be restored at up to a thousand times its normal rate.

Li Zhi was thrilled with his new advantage, almost beside himself with excitement.

“Hm?”

Empress Zhangsun noticed her arm was completely healed, with no trace of the wound.

She thought she must be mistaken.

She summoned her attendants.

“Look at my arm. There was a wound here just a moment ago, but now it’s gone!”

“That’s right!” The maids remembered clearly—she had been scratched by a branch in the back garden, leaving a thin cut. Now, it had vanished. How could that be?

Li Zhi took his mother’s hand and changed the subject. “Mother, I’m hungry…”

“Hungry, are you?”

“Hurry and bring food!” she instructed the maids.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Li Zhi clung to Empress Zhangsun’s hand, hopping and skipping like a child as they returned to the palace.

Well, he was a child after all—just three years old!

No matter how mature his actions or astonishing his words, to others he was just a recently weaned boy.

…

Having spent a day in Tang, Li Zhi quickly adapted to palace life.

He would be living here from now on.

Although the so-called finest imperial cuisine was not especially delicious, and the only entertainment available was hide-and-seek or games as dull as “Mother Hen Protects Her Chicks,” he didn’t need such childish amusements.

With the mind of an adult, the privileges of a prince, modern knowledge, and the “Mischievous Child” system at his disposal, he could live very well.

Phew…

He exhaled, climbed out of bed, and picked up a copy of the Records of the Grand Historian from his bedside, reading with keen interest. It was one of Empress Zhangsun’s favorite books, left behind in her haste.

Better to read a classic than play hide-and-seek with palace maids.

This was a true antique!

“The Emperor arrives!”

Just as he was engrossed in his book, Li Shimin strode into Lizheng Hall with the bearing of a dragon and tiger.

The maids inside bowed at once.

Empress Zhangsun rose and curtsied. “I did not know Your Majesty would come and failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me.”

“Guanyin, must there be such formality between us?” Li Shimin smiled gently.

His relationship with Empress Zhangsun had long since transcended ritual. In his presence, she need not bow. She could speak freely, without fear of punishment.

And out of his love for her, all the children she bore him were especially favored—including the ninth prince, Li Zhi.